Moving Up

Ronin had a Belt Test in karate last week.  He was excited about this particular test because passing it meant he would be able to move up to the next class. 

"Clearing" his mind on the way to class:

Focused and ready.

Ronin always does a great job taking it seriously and doing his best.

Connor being supportive from the sideline.

Announcing the test results.

Ronin's name was called.  :)

Yay!  Ronin passed his test.

Way to go, Ronin!

His buddy, Andrew, passed too.

Yesterday Ronin got to attend his new class for the first time.
There was one particular reason as to why Ronin was so excited to be in this class, and that reason would have something to do with this helmet:

SPARRING!     (aka: contact fighting)

In this class, Ronin gets to start learning how to fight.  How is that not exciting to any seven year old boy?  From a teaching standpoint, sparring gives the students a chance to start putting all the skills they've learned into practice.

He looked so cute with all of his gear on. 

I was excited for him; I knew how much he'd been looking forward to this class.

Mouth guard face.  :)

Class begins.

The first exercise was to hold still while your partner practiced hitting with light contact (pulling the punches instead of letting them sink in.)  Just standing there and getting hit made Ronin smile from ear to ear.

Ronin's turn, watch out! 

At first Ronin didn't quite get the "light contact" concept and was putting in some strong punches to his partner.  His instructor came over and and walked Ronin through it until he completely understood how he was to fight.  He caught on quickly.  

It's no surprise this this would be Ronin's most favorite part of class.

Changing up sparring partners.  The girls can certainly hold their own in this class.  This girl drilled Ronin in the head.

But Ronin quickly caught on how to move and duck out of the way so his partner couldn't hit him so much.  He was able to get some punches in as well.  I must say, he did pretty well for his first time sparring.    

The last sparring match was everybody against everybody.  The kids loved it.

The last half of class focused on stances, kicks, and blocks.

I think it's safe to say Ronin feels right at home in his new class.